He listened, nodded slightly, and held Grandma’s hand.
Perhaps Grandma was sowhat aware even in her sleep, for she gently clutched his hand and muttered incoherently, "Old Xu... I’m sorry... didn’t take care... of Jiangzi..." Finally, she softly called his na, "Gugu... where is Gugu..."
"Grandma, I’m here," he responded softly.
Grandma Xu opened her eyes a sliver and murmured indistinctly, "Gugu, go... ho..."
After speaking, she couldn’t bear the fatigue any longer and fell back into a deep sleep.
This ti, she seed to sleep more peacefully. He saw that Grandma wasn’t talking nonsensically anymore, so he glanced aside and asked her quietly, "How did you co to see Grandma? How did you find out she fainted?"
"..." She still had that hairbrush in her bag, but she would feel embarrassed taking it out now. She was too shy to say she was there to return a gift, "I ca to find Yueyue..."
This answer was obviously flawed. Would she go to find Fan Yue without confirming whether he was ho first? But that wasn’t the point. The point was that Grandma was indeed at ho, and she was sick even last night, yet she still went to burn incense while sick? So, Grandma was actually lying to him! She didn’t want him going to the alley to see her! If it weren’t for Tu Hengsha coincidentally going to the alley for so unknown reason today, who knows what would have happened!
"Well... since you’re here, I’ll head back first..." Tu Hengsha took small steps backward, her pent-up resentnt seed to dissipate with Grandma’s illness. Reflecting on the hardship she faced alongside her mom, she suddenly realized that no one truly has it easy.
"Wait!" he called out.
"Yes?" She paused, "Is there anything I can do to help?" He was a man, who probably wasn’t very skilled at taking care of patients. She had been caring for her mom since she was young, and if he needed her help, she’d be willing to help him. After all, she liked Grandma; she just hoped he wouldn’t misunderstand her as trying to take the opportunity to get close to him.
He stood up and walked over to her.
Without speaking a word, just standing there.
Tu Hengsha had to tilt her head back to see his face, and she accidentally noticed his slightly reddened eyes.
"Um... don’t be sad, Grandma will be okay..." A voice in her heart sighed. She empathized completely with his current fear of losing Grandma. Let it be, let it be, don’t be mad at him anymore!
As soon as she finished speaking, she felt a tightness around her waist, and her body pressed closely against his. His body warmth, along with the scent of green grass emanating from his clothes, enveloped her entirely.
Her body stiffened, unsure of what to do.
At twenty-sothing years old, Su Ronggui was essentially the only man she’d had close physical contact with, ever since she was hospitalized in Jin County, maybe even earlier. She couldn’t rember which day or timing, as everything felt so natural.
Yet she still stiffened, until his chin lightly nudged the top of her head, and his voice echoed in her ear, suppressing his emotions, "Thank you, Little..."
So soft, so vague, she only heard the word "Little" and couldn’t make out what it was exactly, maybe... it was Little Sha?
At that mont, she seed to see her younger self. She had once used her tiny wings to protect her mom’s life, ntioning it to him as if carelessly, but she knew herself how much she longed for a pair of strong arms to embrace her, for soone to tell her, "Little Sha, don’t be afraid, Mom will get better."
But at that ti, it was just herself, only her thin arms to hug her mom, telling her not to be afraid, that everything would be alright.
In many ways, he was very much like her...
May what I lack, you possess.
Having tasted bitterness, therefore kind; having suffered pain, therefore tolerant.
No matter what, he had once been her Little Xu classmate.
In the end, Tu Hengsha stretched out her not-much-stronger-than-childhood arms and gently patted his back.
After a brief embrace, he released her after touching her hair, "You should go back, thank you."
"You’re... too polite." Hearing "thank you" from him twice in a row was quite rare. She smoothed out her hair that he had ruffled, "How about I go back to the alley to bring Grandma so daily essentials and a change of clothes?"
"If it’s convenient for you, that would be great." He handed her the key to the small courtyard.
"Alright, I’ll be back as soon as I can." She took the key and imdiately set off.
As soon as she returned to the small courtyard, Bangbangtang rushed over barking as soon as it heard the gate.
She squatted down to calm it, "Good boy, you did a great job today. Grandma is fine; she’ll be back in a few days! You need to be good during this ti and watch over the house, okay?"
Whether Bangbangtang understood or not, it whimpered a few tis, circling around her feet.
She entered Grandma’s bedroom to pack so things.
This was her second ti entering Grandma’s room. The first was when she found Grandma passed out on the floor. But last ti, she was worried, and didn’t pay attention to the room. This ti, entering again, she noticed the photos on the wall. In the center were two black and white photos of n, one older and one younger. She guessed, this must be Su Ronggui’s grandfather and father. There were several others, with so yellowed black and white photos, presumably of Uncle Xu and Grandma Xu in their youth, with a family photo of Su Ronggui and his parents, and individual photos of Su Ronggui as a child, including baby photos, one-hundred-day photos, and school portraits. She smiled when she saw the photo of him wearing the red scarf. This was exactly the little boy in her mories, just the sa.
Hello, Little Xu classmate! She gently tapped the chubby cheeks of the little boy in the photo with her fingers.
In her mind, Little Xu classmate and Mr. Su were always separate.
After looking at the photos, she packed several changes of clothes for Grandma, took so daily necessities, and was about to head to the hospital when she suddenly noticed a pile of supplents stacked in the small living room on Grandma’s side.
Should she bring so supplents for Grandma to consu?
She decided to bring them. What was edible and what was not, she would ask the Doctor at that ti.
When she returned to the hospital with bags in tow, Grandma was still sleeping, and Su Ronggui was sitting quietly by her side.
She organized the things and told Su Ronggui where each item was, lastly pointing at the supplents with emphasis, "Patients shouldn’t have supplents indiscriminately. Make sure to ask the Doctor before giving them to Grandma."
"Okay..." Su Ronggui hadn’t thought much of it until he casually glanced at the supplents in the cabinet. With just that one look, he suddenly felt sothing was amiss.
Grandma had never bought supplents herself. Everything at ho was bought by him from ti to ti, yet these weren’t things he bought.
"Did you get these from ho?" he asked.
"Yes! They were in Grandma’s small living room. There were many, and I only took a few."
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